‘We will be back:’ Good Day Cafe closes temporarily so owner can recover from hit-and-run crash

SURFSIDE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - The next few days will be quite sad for the Good Day Cafe in Surfside Beach.

The restaurant will serve its last lobster rolls and grilled cheeses for at least the next few months, as the restaurant plans to close up shop tomorrow.

Good Day Cafe Owner Kevin Andrews had a very bad day to close out 2021. He was the victim of a hit-and-run, and police still haven’t found the driver.

“Once the dust settles, and the inflammation, you’re more banged up than you thought,” he said Friday.

Andrews tried to power through the pain and re-opened quickly for the sake of his customers, but ultimately realized he’ll need surgery for his hand and nose.

It also means the dining room is going to be very quiet at the Good Day Cafe for the foreseeable future.

“It’s just going to be a short break hopefully,” said Andrews. “I’ll get on the mend, and we’ll get back open.”

Karma wasn’t exactly kind to Kevin; the crash happened right after he finished serving hundreds of free meals on Christmas, so no one in the community had to be alone or hungry for the holidays.

It’s that generosity that made the cafe a frequent after-school hang-out spot for high schooler Tori Ballard.

The food and classic rock decor may have had something to do with it too.

“Every now and then, out the blue, it’d be like, let’s go to Good Day Cafe and get dinner there,” said Ballard. “It’d probably be on a Tuesday because of the lobster rolls. They were really good.”

Ballard was looking forward to applying to work at the cafe as soon as she turned 15, but that will have to be put on hold.

Andrews is hoping she, and the rest of his customers, will maintain that enthusiasm until he can turn on the open sign again.

“It’s not goodbye,” he said. “It’s just a short bump in the road, and we will be back.”

Good Day Cafe will have a Beatles-themed, “Hello, Goodbye” party Saturday at noon to close out on a high note.

They’re inviting regulars and anyone who’s ever popped in for a bubble tea to pop in one last time.

True to Good Day Cafe style, proceeds from Saturday’s event will go to a charity looking for the cure to Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

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